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Top crime stories in central Maine
Clinton man to serve 30 months; Augusta woman sentenced in welfare fraud; Robbery costs Augusta man 16 months; 15-year-old Wilton boy charged.
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Clinton man to serve 30 months for bat attack
Jeremy Brown on Wednesday was sentenced to prison and fined for an April attack that left one man with critical injuries.AUGUSTA — A Clinton man who earlier this year beat a man with a baseball bat, leaving him with critical injuries, on Wednesday pleaded guilty to the offense and was sentenced to more than two years in prison.
Jeremy Richard Brown, 30, will serve the first 30 months of a 12-year prison sentence followed by four years of probation for the April 16 attack in Albion. Brown was fined more than $2,000 and his license was suspended for three years for the attack and unrelated driving offenses that include operating under the influence, operating after suspension and violating conditions of release.
Justice Donald Marden imposed the sentence Wednesday at the Capital Judicial Center after Brown changed his plea from not guilty to guilty to two counts of aggravated assault as well as the unrelated driving offenses.
The aggravated assault charges against Brown were class A offenses, each carrying a potential 30-year prison sentence, because he had two previous assault convictions, including a 2007 conviction in Belfast Superior Court for aggravated assault.
“He has a spotty record,” Brown’s attorney, Charles Ferris, said. “He understands that.”
Prosecutor Assistant District Attorney Tracy DeVol, describing the attack for the court, said Brown stopped a car driven by Brian Dodge as Dodge was trying to pull out of an Albion driveway. Dodge got out of the vehicle wielding a baseball bat, which DeVol said Brown grabbed and swung at Dodge. Brown missed on the first swing but hit Dodge with the second, putting him on the ground. DeVol said witnesses described Brown swinging the bat as if swinging at a baseball to pummel Dodge about the head.
Brown hit a second person, Darcey Palmer, when Palmer tried to get Brown to stop the attack.
DeVol said Dodge was in critical condition for a while at an area hospital before leaving against doctors’ advice four days after the attack. His medical bills topped $70,000, DeVol said.
Brown had been free on bail on the aggravated assault charges when he was arrested July 18 in Waterville on charges of operating under the influence, operating after suspension and violating conditions of release.
Ferris disputed a portion of DeVol’s account of the attack, saying Brown reacted only after Dodge hit him with the bat.
“He was hit so hard that my client actually defecated in his pants,” Ferris said.
He said his client was still guilty of the charges, however, because instead of running away or ending the attack after gaining control of the bat, Brown continued to beat Dodge.
Brown told Marden that the attack was spurred by substance abuse and lover’s jealousy.
“It was stuff I shouldn’t have been involved in,” Brown said.
Ferris said Brown is addicted to drugs and alcohol, for which he has tried to get treatment. He said Brown, an Erskine Academy graduate who served honorably with the Air Force, is committed to changing his life.
“He’s hoping to use the time while he’s in jail to clean himself up,” Ferris said. “But for the alcohol and drug abuse, I don’t think he’d have the record he has. At this young age, to have a record like this is indicative of someone who does have some demons. He needs to work through that.”
Craig Crosby — 621-5642
Twitter: @CraigCrosby4
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Augusta woman sentenced to four months for welfare fraud
Laurie Chabot will serve four months in jail and must repay more than $27,000 after pleading guilty Wednesday.AUGUSTA — An Augusta woman was ordered to spend four months in jail and repay nearly $30,000 after pleading guilty Wednesday to welfare fraud.
Laurie Chabot, 54, was sentenced to serve the first four months of a two-year sentence, followed by two years of probation, for bilking the state out of more than $27,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and MaineCare funds over a six-year period.
Justice Donald Marden imposed the sentence Wednesday at the Capital Judicial Center after Chabot pleaded guilty to theft by deception and four counts of unsworn falsification. Marden ordered Chabot to pay $50 per month until the stolen money is repaid, which would take 45 years.
“This is a serious offense,” said the prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Darcy Mitchell, who argued for a seven-month jail sentence. “Such intentional, prolonged behavior should be discouraged.”
Mitchell said Chabot stole the money over a six-year period, between January 2008 and July 2014, by falsifying applications for state assistance. Chabot falsely gave the impression that her husband, who earned about $30,000 in a permanent, full-time job, was not living with her or not contributing to the household. Chabot said her only income was from child support and her job at Kmart, Mitchell said.
The deception allowed Chabot to continue receiving food stamps and Mainecare benefits even while her husband had his paycheck deposited directly into bank accounts to which Chabot had access. Mitchell said the state’s investigation, which was launched after an anonymous complaint, not only led to the bank records, but uncovered a marriage certificate and testimony from neighbors who said Chabot’s husband’s vehicle was parked at the home regularly. Mitchell said Chabot continued to deny she was married when investigators confronted her.
“She had control over his $30,000 salary,” Mitchell said.
But Chabot’s attorney, Randy Robinson, who argued for a maximum three months in jail, said Chabot’s husband did not support his wife. Robinson noted that her husband was not in the courtroom on Wednesday.
“This is not a violent person,” Robinson said. “This is a person with a lousy marriage who made some mistakes. Give here whatever time you think is appropriate, but keep in mind this is not Al Capone here.”
Chabot’s daughter, Desiree Dombrowski, said Chabot used the money to support her grown children and her young grandchildren.
“She did it for her kids, like any good mom would do,” Dombrowski said, sobbing. “I’m about to have a baby, and I need my mom there with me.”
Chabot was married in theory, Dombrowski said, but in practice was on her own.
“She never had a husband,” Dombrowski said. “She only had us.”
Robinson said Chabot has no criminal record. Unlike crimes in which someone is hurt physically and might suffer lasting ramifications, Chabot can make the state whole.
“The money can be repaid,” he said. “It will take my client quite a while, but she plans to repay it fully. Whatever harm has been done can be made right.”
But Mitchell said Chabot’s actions strike at the heart of public trust at a time when there is growing distrust of those who receive state assistance and calls to end such programs.
“Throughout the state there’s a lot of anger toward the abuse and misuse of public assistance programs,” Mitchell said. “The defendant’s conduct actually does affect other people.”
Mitchell said Chabot’s actions were not impetuous or driven by need or fear.
“Six years is a long period of time,” she said. “When you engage in a theft for six years and complete over 10 written documents, you’re not just making some mistakes.”
Robinson, however, disputed Mitchell’s claim that Chabot had control over her husband’s finances. Robinson bolstered his claim by reminding the court that he was a court-appointed attorney, a process that requires the defendant to meet specific thresholds of financial need.
“She did what she had to do,” Robinson said.
Marden bristled at that notion, however.
“That’s an interesting comment, Mr. Robinson,” Marden said. “You’re saying she committed a crime because she had to.”
Marden said Chabot committed “a serious crime” and did so knowingly.
“She wasn’t Robin Hood,” Marden said. “Ms. Chabot, I think it’s unfortunate, but it all comes to this: You know you done wrong.”
Craig Crosby — 621-5642
Twitter: @CraigCrosby4
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Carthage man charged with attempted murder after assault
Benjamin Bowie II, 47, allegedly grabbed a woman by the hair and slammed her head through a truck window, which cut her neck and resulted in a severe injury.FARMINGTON — A Franklin County judge has set a $250,000 cash bail for the Carthage man who is charged with attempted murder following an alleged domestic violence assault involving his girlfriend.
Benjamin Bowie II, 47, of Judkins Road, was charged with the class A felony count as well as a class B charge of aggravated assault, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday.
Bowie, appearing by video from the Franklin County Jail, was arraigned Wednesday afternoon in Farmington District Court. Bowie’s attorney, Thomas Carey, reserved the right to argue bail. Judge Charles Dow set bail as requested by District Attorney Joshua Robbins.
Bowie did not enter a plea Wednesday during his initial appearance in court. A police affidavit in support of the attempted murder charge was not available Wednesday.
Wells police arrested Bowie around 1 p.m. Tuesday at the home of a relative in that community, where he was found to be staying.
The incident began early Sunday morning, when Deputy Andrew Morgan responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at 27 Francis Place in Carthage. There, a woman said a young woman, whom she knew to be Bowie’s girlfriend, showed up at her house naked and bleeding from the neck, police said.
The victim’s injuries required her to be taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston for surgery. Her condition was not immediately available Wednesday.
According to police, Morgan was told that Bowie and the victim had been traveling from Rumford in Bowie’s pickup truck when a dispute occurred. The dispute became heated and Bowie allegedly grabbed the victim by the hair and slammed her head through the passenger window, which cut her neck and resulted in a severe injury.
Police announced Monday that Bowie was wanted and authorities were searching for him in connection with the assault.
Lauren Abbate — 861-9252
Twitter: @Lauren_M_Abbate
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Robbery costs Augusta man 16 months behind bars
Samuel R. Smith, 25, was the second of two men to plead guilty to robbing a third man April 17.AUGUSTA — The second of two men charged with robbing a 19-year-old man at gunpoint in April pleaded guilty Monday to charges related to that offense and was sentenced during a hearing at the Capital Judicial Center.
Samuel R. Smith, 25, of Augusta, pleaded guilty to robbery and unauthorized taking or transfer that occurred April 17 in Augusta and was ordered to serve an initial 16 months in prison with the remainder of his five-year term suspended and two years of probation. In exchange for the pleas, a charge of armed robbery was dismissed.
Smith was ordered to pay $100 restitution to the victim and to forfeit a Colt .22 caliber revolver and an AK-47.
Conditions of probation prohibit him from contact with the victim, people who were at the Laurel Street apartment when the victim was robbed, and codefendant Tyler Wayne Robinson, 26, of Augusta.
On June 16, Robinson pleaded guilty to robbery and illegal possession of a firearm and agreed to the criminal forfeiture of the two firearms. He was ordered to serve an initial two years in prison with the remainder of the five-year term suspended and two years’ probation. He too was ordered to pay toward the $100 restitution.
According to Augusta police at the time, the victim had gone to the Laurel Street apartment at the invitation of one of the men’s girlfriends. When he got there, he told police, he was robbed at gunpoint of a baseball cap; a necklace; earrings; and the prescription drugs Suboxone, used to treat opiate addiction, and Adderall, used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. However, they did not take the $200 he had on him, he said.
A number of other people were sentenced this week in separate hearings at the Capital Judicial Center:
• Jeffrey Eaton, 32, of Augusta, terrorizing Oct. 5 in Chelsea, 14-day jail sentence.
• Flint H. Irwin, 28, of Richmond, unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs July 6, two counts of theft by unauthorized taking or transfer May 8, 2015, in Winthrop and Nov. 4, 2014, in Augusta, and violating condition of release May 8 in Winthrop; five-year prison sentence, all but 12 months suspended, three years of probation, $63 restitution.
• Mark A. Prendergast, 27, of Waterville and formerly of Manchester, New Hampshire, unlawful trafficking in heroin March 24 in Waterville; four-year jail sentence, all but seven months suspended, two years of probation, $400 fine, $440 restitution.
• Adam S. Price, 34, of Skowhegan, theft by unauthorized taking or transfer June 17 in Waterville; 12-month prison sentence.
• Joshua Silsby, 28, of Manchester, operating under the influence May 4 in Augusta and two counts of violating condition of release Aug. 30 in Auburn and Aug. 10 in Manchester; 180-day jail sentence, all but seven days suspended, one-year administrative release, $700 in fines, $200 of that suspended, 150-day license suspension.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
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